Super Sonic Unleashed
by Yuli Ban
Summary: Think of it as a cheat code for real life, or maybe a reality glitch— to be Super forever.
1. Unleashed

**_Miles Above Earth... _**

Gears whirl. Pistons sigh. Lasers shriek. Sparks fly. Bullets ricochet. Smoke fades.

The _Death Egg 4_ falls apart. Explosions eat away at its surface and innards— an antacid in soda won't react the same. Watch the debris of Egg Pawns, Badniks, mechanical baddies of all sorts crash down to the surface. The light of the sun illuminates one side while the other is bound by a darkness broken by rapid flashes of fire. And if you look ever so carefully, why you just might see something crazier than this— my, what a great chase!

Here comes the Egg-Mobile. It lumbers down this long hallway. You see that one side is a line of windows revealing the prime spectator, planet Earth, and how it mocks the eggman's frantic motion. His machine grinds against a— here it comes, **_crash, crash_**, it front-flips, and Robotnik's bald and greasy head rubs against the ground (how it hasn't started a fire!)—his machine grinds against a wall, tumbles, crashes into another, twirls, plummets 'tween dented pistons, rides the ground, and skips on. A typhoon of sparks follows, splashing against and off of his aggressor.

And his aggressor is Sonic. He leaps from wall to wall and then lands— sticks that landing— on the floor and continues his chase at a seamless pace. Doctor Eggman abuses every lever and crushes every button. Sweat stings his eyes as his machine begins to fail him. What sting? He feels no sting.

He knows that with every vain attempt at world domination, he risks inviting Sonic's wrath. Eggman looks back. He can count the teeth in the rodent's grinning mouth.

"Hi! I'm Sonic. Have we met?"

"Gahhh!" Eggman slams his fist into a big, red button. His seat springs out, and the oval man rolls ahead, leaving the Egg-Mobile to crash into the ground. Passing through a rectangle of sunlight, Sonic leaps onto a window and uses his angle to pounce on the adrenaline-high scientist.

Backed to the wall, Eggman turns around, panicked and red-faced— but the elevator door stops his death. Sonic wipes fragments of shrapnel off of his face. Several jump-steps back, he wraps himself into a ball and rockets through the steel door. Here he begins free fall, and below him is the elevator. Bigger than his thumb when he comes through, as soon as he begins his fall, the car is larger than the tip of his pinky. A deluge of sparks flow from the skidding corners, and, further down the shaft, the elevator car passes through opaque clouds of smoke.

From above, a spark erupts into a fireball, and half destroyed debris pierces the compressed air. Even a toilet from a level above is among the falling objects- and here's a second, a third explosion! The latter punches a hole in the walls. Further below comes a score more blasts. The car punches through all smoke puffs, continuing its frantic rush downward. As the elevator passes near several windows, it is lit by small cracks of light from the sun. The light filters down the entire way through. Sonic is illuminated each time as well, except that he experiences the light for increasingly briefer moments. Once more, he rolls into a ball. His descent is slowed only once as he nears an elephantine break in the shaft— a point where there is _no_ wall, and the tube-like descent is separated in two. The zero gravity just barely affecting him, he drops through the top of the car like a hot knife on butter.

"_Sonic!_" Eggman backs his wall to the door. His face puts Niagara Falls to shame. He kneels at Sonic's feet, hands clasped together. A foot to the head can end it now. Years of aggression, years of harassment, years of adventure— over in one final strike. "Please! I-I promise, I won't bother you anymore! _T-th-this could be a new b-beginning! _A partnership between me and you! Think of it- y-you and me, helping people! J-just let me go, and I'll leave in peace! _Please!_" He gags at the word 'help.'

Sonic throws up his lower lip and rests his wrists on his hips. Even thickheaded _Knuckles _would know better. Eggman has always promised to change his ways every single time he's backed into a corner. In fact, in one exceptionally extreme case, Robotnik had begged for mercy, only to shatter the world into seven pieces.

"Is _that_ the _best _you can do, Eggman?" Sonic's cocksure composure is met by Eggman's annihilated nerves. The doctor looks up, then glances at the ceiling a second time. Living binary seeps in from hole.

His smile is vicious.

The glob of digital goo drips down onto Sonic's shoulder, no different than a leaky pipe, and the hedgehog ignores it until all falls on his head. Sonic reaches for Eggman but the doctor rises to his feet and backs away with a swagger.

_Ding_. The pressure of the elevator is gone.

Machine gun barrels stab Sonic's personal space. With a smile slapped on his face, Eggman rushes out into his control room and jumps into another Egg-Mobile.

"_Attack! Blast that hedgehog to smithereens!_ _Blow it apart, now, now, __**now!**_" The robots obey. A tsunami of lead blasts into the elevator. Eggman cannot tell if Sonic is still alive and in one piece as he looks over his elbow, shielding his ears. He assumes there won't be anything recognizable, and oh how lovely that would be!

Bullets ricochet. "Cease fire! _Cease fire! I said __**cease fire!**_" Smoke blossoms out of the elevator as the last of the lead casings patter onto the ground. And just smell this noxious air, and see the wispy fingers of smoke swimming away. Eggman leans in. His excitement is through the roof, until his jaw falls through the ground.

There's the digital ooze, but not even a shred of the hedgehog. Eggman exits the Egg-Mobile and runs into the bullet-flooded elevator. He claps twice, and the blob slithers off the ground. It arcs into that card Eggman holds, a card decorated like a microchip. Once contained, the wires of the card shimmer a slate blue.

Surely the attack didn't...

**_CRASH!_** All heads about-face too slow to see that Robotnik has disappeared. Eggman throws out a coughy yell as fists drive into his spine. First the hazard doors crack. He's against them, breaking through them. They crack, crack, crack, crack, **_burst_**. A spontaneous debris flurry showers the next room and the scientist is sent three rooms down in a single second with force that would tear any other creature apart. Eggman has become a battering ram destroying his own creation. Then the pressure subsides and Eggman falls forward. He wobbles on the ground like an egg.

Gently touching the ground tip-toe first is Sonic. Eggman looks up and examines him to his horror- his quills are, yes- they're skywards and golden. Around his enemy is a fire, but not an ordinary fire. This one is sparkling and throws up something akin to sunlight. And his eyes- how red they are! They glow with crimson fury!

"Thought you had me?" Sonic throws. Had Eggman possessed super strength, he would have smashed a hole through the floor, and he's gritting them so hard, his teeth are in danger of breaking. Super Sonic walks for him with his iconic cocky smirk, content with his rescued victory. Every footstep slams into Eggman's eardrums like wrecking balls. He raises his hand, palm towards the hedgehog.

"Don't come any closer." Silent anger drenches his tone.

Without warning, the ground collapses in on itself. Half of the entire hanger comes crashing down. Super Sonic looks around, stunned at this- he combs his mental vocabulary for proper word- this _development_. He takes a step back, then spots Eggman- or at least where the man had once lain. Eggman had descended into a chamber below the hanger, using the maelstrom of debris as cover.

"Eggman!" Sonic runs only for the _entire_ hanger to implode. His muscles acting on impulse, the hedgehog raises his aura and rushes out into space. A massive, five ton slab of metal slams into the zoned section where he had just been standing. He waits for Eggman's next move. Out comes a giant entity covered in a massive, black veil all too similar to the grim reaper. The top of this veil opens up, revealing Eggman in a cockpit.

"Behold! My latest and _grrrreatest _creation! The _Egg Phantom_!" Eggman speaks in an overly boastful tone. Nothing new. Sonic folds his arms, eyes unimpressed by the specs.

_So__** that's**__ what Nik's been working on._ Super Sonic readies himself. The Egg Phantom raises itself, slower than a sloth, before standing off with the super hedgehog. Super Sonic's the first to react, dashing straight into its chest. A crystal bowl in the centre shatters as he blasts into it at light speed. Under them all is the Earth, a spectator to this ultimate showdown.

* * *

"_Gnahahahahaha!_" The Egg Phantom throws a truck-sized fist at Sonic. The golden hedgehog dodges just in time, the edges of the fist ruffling his golden fur. Barrel rolling to the side and sticking a jump on top of the Egg Phantom's black arm, he runs up the arm as he would a ramp; the other arm flies behind Sonic in a failed attempt to flick off the hedgehog. "Grrrr! _Stay still, you filthy, flea-infested rodent!_"

"What's wrong, Mrs. Eggbuttnik? Can't catch a li'l ole hedgehog?" Sonic retorts. Eggman's brow lowers. A toothy smile raises by the same amount, insidious on its own. His finger crushes a hazard-stripe button. Then comes a hushed whirl from below his feet. Super Sonic floats back, throwing his arm behind him. He sneers. Before his eyes, the Egg Phantom undulates, becoming evermore transparent, until it becomes akin to a mass of nearly invisible gel. Its texture continues to undulate, refracting the stars behind.

Super Sonic growls. "So _that's_ your secret, eh?! OK, _bring it on!"_ Already bathed in gold, Super Sonic charges his aura to silver and rockets for the Egg Phantom, rifling as he picks up speed. Nothing. Shooting around and coming back, he attempts to attack the cockpit. Again, the super hedgehog fails. With a mighty punch from the Phantom, the super hedgehog is shot into the distance of space microseconds after passing the head of the beast.

Now he realizes the Egg Phantom lives up to its name- it's become completely intangible! Not impressed. Regaining his posture, golden sparks and wisps undulate and flutter around his body before the energy explodes. His aura sharp and upwards, Super Sonic rockets back for towards the remains of the Death Egg, dodging space debris and meteoroids screaming towards him. Growing in his sights is the Egg Phantom. Once close enough, he slows down and levels with the cockpit.

His aura expands, growing several times the size of the hedgehog himself. Super Sonic pulls himself in, then, with a war cry, explodes his aura. The golden edge of the sphere engulfs the Egg Phantom. Suddenly, the undulation stops and the machine twitches. Electrical sparks sprint up and down its body; small explosions erupt from the points some of the electricity originates from. Jerky motions prevail despite all efforts to control it. Robotnik slams the controls. At that same moment, the bullet Sonic smashes through the cockpit of the Egg Phantom, trailing gold. He comes back again and again and again before the first afterimage even vanishes.

A warning signal flashes in the cockpit. The metaphysical machine is about to explode! Robotnik ejects. A fireball expands before dissipating. Behind it, a parachute comes to form. Robotnik, in a space suit, drifts..

"_Curse you, Son_-" Super Sonic cuts short Robotnik's spit-filled rant. In a strike that would rip a hole in any normal person, Sonic attacks Eggman. The chair explodes, sending millions of pieces into the void as Eggman shoots past the edge of sight. Eggman becomes a twinkle. Super Sonic, with a triumphant smirk on his face, watches with scornful eyes. He doesn't take the time to wonder where Eggman's new galactic home might be. Nor should he care.

"Don't mess with the best, Eggcheese! Don't mess with the best!" Sonic brings his energy over his head once more, and lets it shine ever brighter and brighter. At light speed, he rips through the mouth of the _Death Egg IV_. "_Yaaaaaaaaaaaaahoooooooooo!_"

He tears it apart; large sections continue to explode. As if it hadn't been decaying before, the rate of explosions increases many folds until most blasts fuse into each other. Rays of light fire off from within the space station until, at the highest point of smaller scale devastation, the grand mustache of the Death Egg shatters into ten thousand pieces, sparks and flames infesting its innards. All of it falls downward, caught in Earth's grip, and it does nothing more than to reveal the true extent of damage the Death Egg has been wrought internally.

There goes Sonic, speeding over the northern pole of the Death Egg IV. He stops, however, and makes a beeline right through the pole in a sharp downward blast of speed . In what one can see from the gaping mess left by the orbit-bound moustache, the yellow streak tears through it all in fractions of a millisecond. Earth is his next destination. The Death Egg IV rips in half straight down the middle.

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The Death Egg IV explodes like a firework going supernova. Bits of the space station fall to Earth like a spring shower while others disappear into the void of space. As Super Sonic flies through the atmosphere, the sun peeking over the horizon as he goes, space debris parallels him almost as fast as he. He makes the best of the circumstances and brings himself towards one slab of burning material, sprinting and leaping for others until reaching earth. Super Sonic lands in a sepia crag-infested wasteland. The remains of a city and an armada of Egg Carriers and Egg Pawns lay wasted and mired in flames, the flames brightening the amber skies. Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow stand ready to greet Sonic.

"Yeah! You did it!" Tails cries with a bitter smile. Even with two bandaged hands, he still offers one for a high-five- he nearly trips on himself as small shocks of pain ride through his dirt-smothered legs.

"Eggman's gonna be feeling _that _one for a while!" a black-eyed Knuckles adds, giving his friend two pats to the back. Sonic stumbles forward from them, but corrects himself just in time to listen in to Shadow.

"It was chance at best you were thrown into the Doctor's 'Skylab Labyrinth'. But at least you _were_." Even Shadow is battle-scarred, his chest hair being ruffled and so slightly reddened. "Otherwise Eggman may have won." Sonic cocks his head as his grin grows wider. Shadow's nihilistic flattering flew over his shoulder.

"It was nothin'. Besides, I gotta thank you guys too for keeping Egghead's robots outta that city... mostly." Super Sonic's chaos power heals the three as they bask in his swath of light. All of their wounds begin to vanish as if sketches removed by a pencil's eraser. "But it was nothin'."

"But Sonic, that has to have been the biggest pounding you've _ever_ given Eggman," Tails gawks. "I think you stopped him for _good_ this time." Sonic shuts his eyes and turns away, failing to hold back a grin.

"Meh. You know him. He'll be back." Sonic stares to the sky. Not frowning, but this is a smile he has, as if relishing the thought of facing Eggman once again. "But man! You gotta hear about how I whooped his butt in space!" A bright, sunny, and awfully yellow-tinted day eventually follows their conversation.


	2. Free Is The Night

"Hey, Sonic. Any, uh… any reason you're still glowing?"

Sonic checked his body. Just as Tails noted, he's golden. So he felt for his quills, and they still remained fixed skyward.  
"Huh, I guess I'm not outta rings yet." He shrugged the oddity off. "So what was that you were sayin' about Eggman?"

"He's _brilliant!_" Tails went on about how impossible it should have been to create an intangible mech, about how the chaos wave fluxuations needed should have destroyed Eggman, about how Eggman was becoming too smart for his own good. Credit was given where it was due, and Sonic applauded the persistence of the machine. But the ass-kissing went on all the way back to Tails's workshop.

Brow raised, Tails said, "Okay, Sonic, something's wrong."

It's not that Sonic was worried, but he still forced his aura into his body faster than needed. Though he strobed between blue and gold, the chaos energy's glow never left him.

"Tails, help me out 'ere!"

The fox stroked his chin, examining at his friend from quill to sneakers. "Y'know, I have some equipment in my workshop. We should be able to get to the bottom of this."

Sonic smiled.

* * *

It was baffling!

Tails tested Sonic biometrics, observing the raw data rushing from electrodes into a computer. Petabytes worth of information loaded into .dlr and .med files. When they determined enough information had come in, bots swarmed over the files, scouring with superhuman proficiency all bits, hunting with virtual bloodlust for anomalies.

Nothing. Chaos energy lined up with expectations. Bioelectricity came in at 72 terawatts, well below the super form's maximum output; Sonic assured Tails he was suppressing energy.

Then came the blood samples- at least, what Tails could get. Every syringe snapped upon piercing Sonic's epidermis, even when the hedgehog lowered his energy to the point of his quills falling. Sonic wiped his forehead when Tails stashed the needles away, but his face contorted and assumed a funny shape when he was led into a chamber where four Tesla coils pointed at his face.

"Just relax," he thought he heard. Not easy to listen with a death ray in your face. A million volts ripped through his body.

The first sign something was wrong was when Sonic noticed he _didn't _react. Where any other creature should have danced death's steps, if not exploded, he stood with passiveness to spare.

He braced his muscles, squeezed his eyes, and shouted, "Anytime, brah!"

"It's at maximum power!"

Sonic's eyes opened wide. "I don't feel nothin'. Sure it's at max?" Why would Tails lie?

He heard, "Yeah!" and sagged his arms.

"Crazy." The lightning died and the room took on the colors of evening again. Tails came in, reading data from a holographic pad. Sonic turned to him, pointing at himself and shrugging, and said, "I guess I _am _stuck as Super Sonic."

No matter how many time his eyes followed lines of data, Tails could not find an answer. "This is so weird!"

"You're tellin' me." Sonic rubbed his fingers through his golden fur, feeling the silky hairs sizzle. It felt good.

* * *

"I'll dig deep into the data tonight and call you when I'm finished." They waved each other goodbye. Tails shut his door. Sonic took his first steps into the night. He let his legs take over and sped into the mountains.

He remembered that he can fly. But why? Where's the fun of exploring places if you could just fly?

Wait.

He's never explored the sky. No, not without help.

Liftoff. There goes the moon, the billowing clouds, the volcanoes- next stop, wherever the hell he wants. The air tasted like freedom.

But his adventure ended- or perhaps it truly began- over the Quicksand Desert when he saw someone in distress. As he approached, recognition snapped through his mind. _A Rockette! _Half its body was submerged, and oblivion surely welcomed it.

Then warred his conscience. Should he save one of those tin cans? Why bother? Why not?

It slipped below the surface, but Sonic dove under and pulled it out. What a wussy he was. He set it down at an oasis some distance away.

"Tell Eggbuttnik he's welcome!"

Then he was nothing more than a shooting star.


	3. Morning Donut Blues

The cloud made a comfy bed. Mario was right. However, it was evaporating in the sunlight, and this was surely a sign he should hop off. Below was a city. Sonic lifted himself up and jumped over the cloud's edge, free falling until he passed the spires of sky scrapers. Low enough, he lifted himself and streaked over streets. Citizens below had to keep themselves decent as his wake blew a gale.

Where he landed, the place was European, with terraces and cottage-houses and wood framed walls. The morning sun gilded rooftops and canal water, but he was the most golden thing around. What a joke it was. To be gold. To be a psychedelic Shadow.

Eyes fixed on him, and children, human and dokan, came running up.

"It's Super Sonic!" someone cried. And cried is the best word, for he saw the jittered motions and gasps for breath. Legs trembled with broken nerves as heads turned skyward.

Sonic cut into their fears with, "Don't worry! I'm not fightin' anybody! I'm just stuck like this for right now!" Most sighed and twitchy smiles broke upon their faces. "No big monsters or anything! Honest!"

"S-so why are you Super Sonic?" For a moment, Sonic wanted to smack the man. The lighter side of his mind reminded him that he gave no better explanation, so, "I dunno" was his best answer.

Petals fluttered through the air in a flurry of false snow. Cyclers eased on by. Birds sang themselves awake. Names such as "Sørenstraat" and "Van Rjin Geelpilen" donned signs.

Sonic scratched a nonexistent itch on his brow. "Jeez, how far did I go?"

* * *

Oh no. Flirty and sexy, it came like fingers tickling his stomach. If he licked the air, he'd get diabetes.

"Smells like fresh donuts!"

And there's the clerk. She said, "Goedemorgen, vriend! Kom binnen voor sommige zoete taarten en gebak!"

"If that means, 'Wanna donut,' then you better believe it!" A whole row went into a bag.

_Cha-ching!_

In accented English, the clerk added, "That will be two hundred rings." That smile seemed to slap him across the cheek, as if she knew. She _knew _he was broke.

_Oh crap._ He got that donut out of his mouth fast. Then he pulled his pockets (hammerspace is a wonderful thing) inside out. "I'm broke, bro."

The door slammed behind him and the hipsters inside went back to their daily morning donut blues.

"Capitalism sucks!" Sonic shouted. It didn't even work, not a glance. The next few moments could have been spent pouting had he not heard that distinct '_bling_'. There, by his feet, was a ring. How odd! He'd always known them to make that sound when picked up, not dropped- no, there was a much more distressing sound in those cases. A terrible ringing.

One hundred and ninety-nine more to go. _Bling! _One hundred and ninety-_eight_ more to go. _Bling! _One hundred and… what?

"Wait a sec." He ordered his thoughts into the shape of a ring and imagined a thousand more.

_BLING! _Sonic, you're rich.

Several minutes later, Sonic emerged from the shop. Licking his lips and chomping on pastries, Sonic said, "Capitalism is sweet." And yet the day had only yet begun.

* * *

Sonic ducked, but stood up when he felt no impact, no blow. Everyone else had fallen to their feet, their shins, their knees. Then came the screams. Cyclists dropped their bikes and ran. A scant few pulled out smartphones and videoed the pandemonium.

"What's goin' on?" Smoke slithered through the streets, thin at first before growing into billows. It all reeked of sulfur and the air became thick and gritty. Whatever happened happened behind a turn in the road. Sonic ran, but when he got there, he could have drowned himself in the tears his laughter let loose.

Eggman's robots circled a bank entrance. The Plexiglass door had been beaten in, and the armored van was in two pieces. No gore.

The smoke would have blinded any living thing, but these machines moved with athletic precision through the cloud, knowing every detail down to the millimeter. Their comrades, the pilfered banknotes, the hostages, all ready and set.

With a mighty _whoosh_, the noxious cloud flattened and cleared. Sonic floated half a foot above the ground, body taut and strong.

"I don't hear any music, so what are you metalheads doin' here?" and the robots responded with gunfire. Bullets shattered off of his chest, face, and body, but he didn't flinch or feel any impact. Even his ears muffled the pops of gunfire.

Machine guns spent, the pawns observed the damage. Nothing. They backed away. Sonic smirked at their oblivion.

One eye locked on the leftmost droid; in a flash, it was nuts and bolts. Light speed, he rifled through two more. The final pawn stood facing away. He aimed his hands at its chassis and fired a spear. The robot shattered.

His body rose erect. He turned to the teller tied up and gagged with a white rag and split the rope.

"You okay?"

She coughed and rubbed her eyes. Then she hugged him and wept. "_Dank je wel! Dank je wel! Ik dacht dat ik ging sterven!_"

"Ha. Like Egghead's tincans would actually kill anybody."

She's the only one. Just this one. She wasn't even human; no, she's a rabbit, twice his size and ears wrapped around her head like a hat. Other than that, she wore a black coat and short skirt like any other professional. Why her?

The aria of police cars echoed through the district. When the police arrived, Sonic explained what he had seen. They wrote his testimony into a phablet, and let him go. All left to do was collect his soiled donuts.

Why her? The woman wouldn't be bothered, for the shock of the morning was too much. With no other threads to follow, Sonic turned away and lifted into the air.

Cool air and pearly skies followed him from the city and to snowcapped mountains. Beneath him, fjords and glaciers met. Waters sparkled like himself, silver and gold in the dawn sun.


	4. The World Is Not Enough

Cries for help came from the woodlands. He pushed himself to Mach Twenty and sped for ten seconds, clearing whole mountain ranges, until he came upon the boy. Judging by his injuries, he'd been trapped under this fallen pine for hours. Nothing a shock of Chaos couldn't fix. With a quantum of effort, Sonic lifted the whole tree. What roots still connected into the ground were pulled out. He set it down in a clearing and rushed back to the boy.

First, he waved his hand over the child's mangled leg. Each pop caused the boy to flinch, but with Chaos flowing into his body, there wouldn't be any pain. Then, there was only the gash on his forehead to fix.

As he mended the boy's head, he asked, "You okay?"

His voice was nasally and weak, but he said, "Not really." Sonic finished his recovery and helped him to his feet. "I kinda wish you didn't find me."

Sonic's eyes took on a strange shape. "Whaddya mean?"

The boy bit his lip and looked away. "I mean, I..." Then he rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't want to be rescued."

"But I heard you cry out for help!"

"Get off my back, man. I didn't expect it to hurt that bad."  
Understanding hit Sonic pointblank like a shotgun blast to the face, and he momentarily wondered why the boy didn't choose to take such a blast. He'd dealt with these types before. Half the time, they were whiny emos who'd only threatened to take their lives to get attention and, when no one paid attention, actually went through with it, only for Sonic to appear at the right moment and convince them life was worth living.

Then there were types like this kid. He could see it in his eyes and his posture. Real, actualized depression, a sort of hopelessness that even the heroic aura of Sonic couldn't pierce. Actually, he's not the best at reading one's body language, but his heightened perception dug into the boy's mind and read everything he didn't care to read.

Anything he said wouldn't make a difference, for the boy's mind was a miswired timebomb that had already exploded. The world was not enough to save him.

But maybe...

"Hey, kid."

It took ten seconds for the boy to respond. Just a flinch.

Sonic smiled and pressed his hand against his head. It went against his morals to force a character change on someone, but so did permitting suicide. He'd rather the lesser of two evils.

"Just smile."


	5. As My Soul Silently Weeps

The boy rode Sonic over the forests and rivers, through the clouds and under rainbows. Pain gone, life drawn, and a heart like a newborn star. At last, sunshine was tolerable. Enjoyable.

"Where's your family, Sonny?"

Sonny shouted, "What? I dunno, man! You're going too fast!" Sonic felt the boy's face tighten on his back and reigned himself in. They slowed to a numb pace. To Sonny, the sudden break meant nothing if his feet weren't on the damn ground.

"Can ya let me breathe?"

"You better not let me go, man." Sonny held on tighter, his arms arresting Sonic. His grip would have killed any normal creature, if not by suffocation then by crushing ribs. Nothing. No pain. Those squeezed eyes, the skinbreaking clamp of his fingers, the thumping in his chest, all of it comforted Sonic.

They came across a hamlet. Sonic grabbed a wreath and rapped on the pinewood door.

"Sonic?"

Sonic turned.

"Why'd you save me?"

Sonic smiled. Was it worth the price he paid? That smile, not on him but on the kid, spoke the million words he couldn't.

"Just cuz."

* * *

A free spirit flies fastest in familiar places.

Shamar wore magic like a whore as a red evening's epithet faded into the echoes of shadows. The stars were out. Handsome Arabian domes became background silhouettes. As Super Sonic touched down, he felt the winds of whips let loose by the mages of the night.

The only lights left to shine were the soft glows of flaming oils. Those, the rainbow of enflamed scents in crystal bottles illuminating the faces of the usual djinns.

One djinn approached Sonic.

"Come here, fellow spectre, come here!"

Sonic glided over, and received, "Might I interest you in a harem? Finest young ladies— don't be such a spoilsport!"

Sonic had made it quite a ways away, coming across a genie in his haste. She was quite the genie, adorned in lavender silks and otherworldly jewels. With her cat's eyes and red chakra, she reminded Sonic of,

"Blaze?"

Sonic stepped closer, face wide with wonder.

And then she spoke in songs, "I am not this 'Blaze' character you speak of, though, if I may, I wish to use your services for a task beyond my capabilities."

"Blaze, that is _so you_." He pat the genie on her back, slower and slower with each awkward touch. "You're... not Blaze, are you?" Oops.

She blushed.


	6. Bang

This is a story I so wanna tell. You see, Super Sonic stood at a pagan altar and placed his hand in a pentagram. Then all these fireworks started flying.

It wasn't even subtle! Awwwwwwwwwww, you shoulda seen him fly! Like a sparkly diamond with wings or something of that nature. You know— the golden hedgehog nature.

And then he landed and said, "Sup, guys? You wanna see some fireworks?" like we hadn't already seen them.

Oh boy, that was it. Sonic raised a super saiyan aura inside the altar and let it explode into flames. Not destructive flames— nooo, I mean holy flames. Kinda like tongues of fire from a newborn star, kinda like an acid trip from heaven.

Whoosh! There he went! Over there, see that grove of old, burnt pine trees? He was hangin' out like a star just above it. And I mean a literal star, that's what it looked like. He bulleted across the sky and left a rainbow wake, and you could see this undulating bubble of air. Yeah, he was moving so fast, the sonic boom collapsed in on itself! He circled around, over to about that power tower or whatever it's called, and hovered just between two of them. It was a whole long field, just the towers lining up parallel, allll the way back to the Gloom Keep mountain range.

Wazam! Into space! He tore a friggin' hole in the atmosphere, and you could see this little black pinprick. That was outer space.

I was sayin' to Marley, "Dude, did you see that?" and he was busting over laughing because, clearly, we all saw that.

We started clapping, when all of a sudden he materialized right in fronna us. Like, everybody jumped. I think I crapped my pants, haha!

Then he walked to me. To me!

"Devon, is it?" How did he know that?! He knew my name through some Jedi mind trick.

Actually, I told 'im, "Uh, this is not the Devon you are looking for." You wanna know what he said?

"You are not the Devon I am looking for." Straight faced, not laughing, like a sly sucka.

"Carry on."

"Carry on." Then we bumped chests. I swear, I felt some sorta static shock.

So he was sayin' something about, uh, my pick up. Yeah, Sonic landed in the backa my truck earlier, and I was swerving and panicking. Aw man, thought I was gonna die. But nope. He stopped the car, flew me over to the school. The elementary school.

And my son got to meet Sonic the Hedgehog. Super Sonic! The classes just let out, so everyone was outside waiting for their bus. You shoulda seen their faces when friggin' Super Sonic waved at them. One kid, this one kid actually squealed and shoved his way to the front of the crowd.

So I got my son and he shook Sonic's hand. I told 'im, "Malik, you better be thanking this hedgehog, 'cuz he's the reason I'm still with you."

Then Sonic decided to amuse the kids with that airshow, and there you go. Now, the pagan altar, there was a religious ed teacher who was showing off stuff, and he put a cross and crescent moon in there. There was a rune, too, and it had something to do with, I dunno, a tiny little juniper tree. Malik said he was doing a prayer or ritual, or something, I dunno, I don't follow all that stuff. I guess they did get a god to answer, though!

My heart's still pounding, man. You couldn't ask for a better day. I know, I'm saying that when I almost died, but that puts it into perspective for me. He is a hero.

And when it was all done, Sonic gave me a little salute, and blasted off. Right before then, though, he said just one thing. And damn it if it ain't the best thing I ever heard anyone say in my life.

"Bang."


	7. Sonic

He played the sky like a star guitar. Aerial to aerial, water tower to water tower, he made music from a fusion of distance and his light. See him all the way over there? Yeah. Cool. Who'da thunk he'd be anything else?

I'm gonna tell you a story you won't believe. Pay close attention.

My name is Hideki. Professional student, collegian for eight years, and the world's biggest Sonic fan (if I do say so myself). When I heard Sonic had flown over our town, I dropped everything and got out my phone to catch a picture or two. Super Sonic, right? Pretty awesome experience seeing 'im. There he was, floating over the town, and everyone was gawking like he was a UFO. I can only imagine how much he was getting off to all the attention.

So I decided to take a selfie with 'im in the background. Blue and white sky, super hedgehog shining like a star, and my handsome face— what more could you ask for?

Phone went snap and I checked to see how well it turned out.

I had to take another picture, because Sonic bunny'd my head!

"Really?" I turned around and there he was. He should trademark that smirk of his.

I squealed and fell face first into the road. But through some freaky psychokinesis or maybe gravity modification, he lifted me back to my feet and wiped a pebble off my forehead.

He let me take a selfie with 'im! If I took another, I'd probably keep him from doing whatever he was doing before, so I just kept that one.

You think he'd shoot into the sky, right? Well you're wrong— he walked across town. Imagine such a sight! A god of a hedgehog walking down a tranquil middle class neighborhood's sidewalk. He did stop to help some workers who were repairing a street. Recall the floaty psychokinesis he used on me— now imagine him using it on five tons of concrete. If I had to guess, I'd say he saved those workers about twenty days and probably netted them a few pockets worth of pay.

And he kept walking. Sometimes he climbed over fences, and he floated up the length of an old industrial tower that was in the suburbs. Why? I dunno!

That's what we loved about it so much. He wasn't doing anything but being himself. I can't even recall anyone recording the moment after the whole road thing, since we all wanted to leave him alone.

I sat by a tree and watched him fade into the distance. He made me happy.


	8. Clouds Are Dope

Look at all these clouds! Y'know, people on the ground prolly think it's a sweet day with all these popcorn clouds. But up here! Whoo, it's cool.

When you get over the jolt a' fear of a big white mass a' stuff comin' atcha, you'll see it's like fog in the sky. Your face gets wet, you feel it in your fur, but it's just water that's sorta there. So yeah. Fog. When it's cloudy, that means the sky is foggy.

But let's go over here. Holy cow, now that's a black cloud of anger. All the lightning, all the wind from updrafts and downdrafts, all a' its cloud overlordiness can look scary— but it's still fog.

Fog that can kill ya', don't get me wrong! But it's fog. You don't slam into it or anything. Just don't breath it in too much, 'cuz you can drown in 'em. Yeah, wouldn't that be a dumb obituary: Here lies Sonic. He drowned in a storm cloud.

There's a tornado over here somewhere. I can kill it with a snap of the fingers, or make it unwind by creatin' my own cyclone counter to it— let's try that, just to see what'll happen.

One, two, three— whoo! Look. At. That. It's like cloud spaghetti. Like, if I had a fork made 'a wind, I could prolly get a good twirl goin'. Because clouds-er, tornadoes are still clouds. Don't take a bite, though. You ever ate a cloud? Freeze a cloud in yer fridge, if y'get the chance, and lick it after a few hours. Make sure you have a fun-bag withcha. Once you finally finished hurlin', reflect upon those precious few minutes you just wasted torturing yourself by eating a cloud.

You coulda fed a homeless man.

No, not the cloud! I mean, like, spaghetti. No, not the cloud! Jeez. I mean, real food. But nope! You decided to eat a cloud. I hope you're happy with yourself. Not like I've ever done that, I mean. But if I had, then I'da done goofed.

Then there are these freaky electric clouds. St. Elmo's Fire, right? I can make it in my hands, but that's just 'cuz I got the powah. When I'm not a psychedelic super saiyan Shadow, I stop t'check 'em out sometimes. Kinda cool. Kinda hurt to touch too. Like this one time, I ran straight into some fire, and dropped about five hundred rings. Which is stupid. I coulda swore electric fire attracts rings.

So what else about clouds will Professor Sonic teach ya today? Magnetic clouds. Now _these_ are freaky. I dunno why, but they make me feel queasy. They're still cool though. Wanna watch me make some? All I hafta do is fly real fast, and some aurora clouds will trail me all the way.

Like now. What, you didn't see me move? C'mon, experience reality faster! Now look at that _swirly_ thing. See? Alllll the way past the horizon. You can even see it—

**_From Space!_**

Van Gogh, eatchur heart out!


	9. Golden Cheeseburger

Super Sonic stopped at a fast food joint. He flew through the drive-thru and ordered a double cheeseburger with fries.

The face of the person at the window when she saw Super Sonic...! God, it was hilarious. She dropped the bag and had to have another brought to him. Free of charge, of course. And it wasn't anything special either- just a normal order, and Super Sonic sped through the afternoon right after. It was just the shock of seeing Super Sonic that made the scene so bizarre.

When it came time to pay, Sonic held out his hand and dropped rings that came from nowhere. So awesome was he that he decided to pay off the tab of every patron in the building at that time! His trail was gold, too, and rings fell behind him.

Naturally, everywhere he went after was waiting for him to drop da cash, so he had to stop, but the generosity was done.

The cheeseburger was a'ight. Could've been better. Way too overpriced.


	10. Psychedelic Super Saiyan Hedgehog

Super Sonic streaked across the starlit sky, passing over a medieval village. That's what stopped him— what's a medieval village doing existing in this day and age? As it happened, that was merely a Renaissance fair that had taken itself a bit more seriously...

A man clad in chainmail and armor plating rode his horse over a wooden bridge, and a similarly dressed guard rolled down the door. Into the castle he went...

Yet the guards and the horseback rider got into defensive positions, swords in their hands, when they heard the faint tapping of feet upon the ground.

"My my! That's an interesting performance you got there."

The knight dismounted and aimed his lance at Sonic. "Halt, hedgehog!"

Super Sonic pressed his finger against the tip of the lance. "Yo!"

All the men exchanged glances.

"Don't mess, sunshine," Sonic said, suddenly throwing in a Posh accent. "I wanna watch your game a bit to see how you play knights and princesses!"

All men began screaming and pointing to the sky. Sonic looked up.

There it was— a dragon straight out of a pseudo-medieval fantasy RPG. "Oh, is that all?"

Rather than letting the dragon make a scene, Super Sonic shot through its chest. Rather than exploding in a maelstrom of gore, the balloon deflated.

"Oh for Chaos's sake, man! We're trying to recreate the middle ages!" the soldier said.

At which point, Sonic assessed the situation and finally saw the crowd of pissed onlookers.

"Ah... I see. Welp!"

The sound barrier blasted to bits. All the actors waved their fists, screaming obscenities and demanding reparations in blood for all their hard work going to waste all because of a psychedelic super saiyan hedgehog.


End file.
